Many surgical procedures require that body lumens and other tissue be cut and sealed. It is sometimes desirable to close the lumen ends with staples or clips and then to cauterize the tissue at or near the incision to prevent bleeding.
These procedures are frequently used in laparoscopic surgery. For example, one bowel resection procedure involves stapling each end of the colon closed, cutting the colon with a razor or scalpel, and then cauterizing the closed ends with heating elements. Various procedures and devices have been created to perform these tasks more efficiently.
Yates, Hemostatic Surgical Cutting or Stapling Instrument, U.S. Pat. No. 5,624,452 (Apr. 29, 1998), discloses a laparoscopic stapler that uses two rows of staples aligned parallel to each other, with each series of staples aligned parallel to its jaw members. A razor is disposed between the rows of staples, to cut the tissue, and two parallel heating elements are disposed to either side of the razor to cauterize either side of the wound.
For operations which require dividing and stapling large body vessels, such as the colon, bleeding can be greatly reduced vis-à-vis the stapler and cutter of the above references with the devices and methods disclosed below.